Arizona Cardinals Regular Season - Cardinals -Vikes Recap

The Setup
"Cards are reeling from 3 straight gut-wrenching losses,. The Vikings are even more desperate at 0 & 4, having lost to the unimpressive Chiefs a week ago 22 to 17. Both teams will be hungry and eager to get the 800 lb gorillas off their respective backs. Both teams are operating with new QB's this year - the Cards with youthful Kevin Kolb and the Vikes with AARP newcomer Donovan McNabb (an AZ resident who at one point was rumored to be a candidate for Cardinal starting QB)."

The Bottom Line:
Make it 4 straight losses (although this one was far from gut-wrenching) and a gazillion pound gorilla.

The Cardinals were on a track to lose 112 to 0 after falling behind 28 - 0 with over 2:41 to go in the 1st quarter. But things improved steadily as the game wore on and the Cardinals "only" lost 34 - 10.

Statistically, the disparity between the 2 teams wasn't that wide, but the devil is in the statistical details - 4 sacks allowed, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble lost and double the penalty yards as the Vikes. I stated in my game preview that this game would be a measuring stick of the competency of the Cardinal coaching staff. I'm not backing down - they've lost control of this team and must be held accountable. Thank goodness we have a Bye Week coming up so I don't have to spend any more time than necessary agonizing over the clowns.

Game Recap

1st Quarter

Opening KO went for a touchback, and the two teams exchanged 3 & outs, but the Card got the ball back pinned to their own 3 and went 3 & out again. Graham's 38-yard punt was returned 22 yards to the Cardinal 18. Peterson +11. Peterson +3. Peterson +4 and a TD. (That sure looked easy). Vikings 7 - Cards 0.
LSH returned the KIO to the Cardinal 25. On the first play from scrimmage, Kolb's pass for Roberts was intercepted. Viking ball on the Cardinal 24. On the first play from scrimmage, Peterson outmanouvered Cardinal defenders for a 24 yard TD run. Vikings 14 - Cards 0.
Touchback. Ball on the Cardinal 20. On the second play of the series, Kolb was sacked and fumbled. Vikes took over on the Cardinal 25. It took 5 plays for McNabb to scramble 4 yards up the middle for another TD. Vikings 21 - Cards 0.
Did the Cardinals panic? Well...er....why not? They started from their own 18 and went 3 & out. Punt was fair caught at the Viking 27. A pass interference flag on #21 moved the ball to the Cardinal 37. 4 plays later, Peterson waltzed through the Cardinal secondary for a 14-yard score. Vikings 28 - Cards 0.
KO was returned by LSH to the Cardinal 26 (Cardinal highlight of the quarter so far). We made it to the Minny 42 in 5 plays, but the "drive" stalled as the quarter ended.

2nd Quarter

Graham's punt was downed at the Minny 2, and they (mercifully) went 3 & out. Cards took over on their own 47 and picked up a steady +4, +5, +7, +4 and +5; but a false start penalty on Colledge stalled us at the Minny 33 where Feely kicked a 51 yard FG ("Cardinal Play of the Game" thus far). Vikings 28 - Cards 3.
Vikes returned the KO to their own 22 but punted after reaching their own 35. Cards took over on their own 18 moved to the Viking 22 on 16 plays (using up 6:44 worth of clock time) before Kolb was sacked for minus-18 yards and the Cards punted from the Viking 37. Ball was downed on the Minny 4. They went nowhere, and the half ended on D Washington's sack of McNabb . Halftime Score: Vikings 28 - Cards 3..

3rd Quarter

Cards kicked off. Touchback. Viking 20. Haggans' hit of Jenkins caused a fumble (R Johnson recovered). A reversal of the call gave us the ball at the Cardinal 41. Completions of +16 (to Doucet) and +22 (to Fitz) helped set up a Beanie 2-yard TD run (Let's roll!). Vikings 28 - Cards 10.
KO wasreturned to the Viking 10. An imcomplete pass on 3rd & 4 was nullfied by an interference call on Marshall and the Vikes eventually tacked on a 26-yard FG. Vikings 31 - Cards 10.
LSH returned the KO to our own 14. We managed to get to our own 37 in 5 plays, but Kolb got sacked for minus-9 and it came down to Beanie not picking up one yard on a 4th & 1 as the quarter ended. 3rd Quarter Score: Vikings 31 - Cards 10.

4th Quarter

Vikes took over at the Cardinal 47 and managed to get to our own 25 before Longwell's FG try was wide left. Cards took over on their own 33 and managed to get all the way to the Minny 11 where a TD pass to Doucet was nullfied by a illegal use of the hands penalty on Bridges. Kolb then got sacked again; this time for minus-9 and the Cards failed to convert a 4th & 22 at the Viking 30. Vikes went 3 & out. (Woo Hoo!). Cards ball on their own 38 with 7:04 left. 2 plays later, Kolb was picked off and the Vikes returned the interception to the the Cardinal 47 (Holding call on Batiste wasn't accepted). 6:42 left. Six straight runs by Peterson set up a Longwell 53-yarder. Vikings 34 - Cards 10.
2:09 left. Bartel in for Kolb. He completed 3 passes in his first 5 plays, only to have his 3rd completion (a 7-yarder to Housler) nullified by an illegal shift penalty. Two plays later, Bartel was picked off. Two knees. Game, set, match. Final Score: Vikings 34 - Cards 10.

Game Stats

Cards were penalized 6 times for 64 yards Vikes were flagged 5 times for 35).
Kolb was sacked 4-times for minus-40
Beanie gained a 60 yards on 20 carries.
Doucet caught 8 for 92 yards. (Fitz grabbed for 66; King 5 for 35)
Kolb was 21 for 42 (That's 50% folks, and 50% won't cut it) and 232 yards, 2 picks and no TD's.
Graham had a 33.4 net punting average (compared to 47.5 for Kluwe). Carter had the defense's only sack.
Jefferson 8) led the team in tackles followed by Lenon (6), Campbell (5) and D Washington (5)
Cards had no picks; Haggans forced one recovered fumble.

Bright Spots

None..

The Dark Side

The entire team failed to show up and got run out of Minneapolis early.
Peterson made our tacklers look like cardboard cutouts..
Kolb continues to look as if he is suffering from acute migraine headaches..
Most pass patterns look as though they were drawn up by a group of failed Pop Warner coaches.
The Cardinal offensive line is a disgrace.

Last Word:
This resounding thumping wil, no doubt, present the perfect opportunity for a number of "dark siders" to get off playing "What's the Cruelist Thing You Can Say About the Cardinals?" Not that they'd be wrong - just "what good will that do?" I plan to stay far away from the Fan Boards during Bye Week and focus on my second love: The StL Cardinals.

Meanwhile - things being what they are - I feel comfortable in saying that (1) the Cardinal coaches didn't have this team prepared to compete in Minnesota, (2) the players didn't come ready to play, (3) our "offensive coaching by committee" arrangement is inept and needs a complete overhaul and (4) it's become increasingly obvious that the "be patient" and "stay the course" attitude toward fixing our offensive line is not working.

There's not a whole lot we can do about these problems until the season is over - other than play hard, play loose, play our youngsters and simply go out there each week and do our best to kick some ass.

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